Solar Cooker Help for Vanuatu SW Pacific

by Marc Neil-Jones
(Vanuatu)

I own a small newspaper in Vanuatu, SW Pacific which is a; UN least developed country, dependent on aid and tourism.

Currently we throw away around fifty thin A1 size aluminum printing plates for our offset printing press every week. I would like to see if we can recycle the aluminum plates to make a cheap and simple but effective solar cooker that can be given or sold at cost to people in the islands who cannot afford electricity.

Vanuatu electricity is amongst the most expensive in the world. We can recycle our printing plates if we are given advice and plans on what else we need to build a good, cheap little solar oven for the South Pacific.

Does anybody have plans and advice on what else we need to build a prototype using our aluminum printing plates that we could look at to see if this is possible?

Comments for Solar Cooker Help for Vanuatu SW Pacific

This is such a great idea, Marc! I've been working with five tribes in Middle Bush, Tanna to initiate solar and other forms of renewables training. We would benefit greatly from your ambition and could build some of our programming around up cycling your plates into cookers if you'd like to be in touch. Please send me a note through our (soon to launch) website? www.artTEKtanna.org. If you have yet to find an ideal local partner, we'd be very interested in stepping up! Will do my best to be in touch directly as well!

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Cooker from printing platesby: Jim La Joie

First you will need to clean and polish the plates. Next you can use the plates to make a DATS Solar cooker(google it) which is quite simple. Or you can use the plates as reflective covering to attach to cardboard or other material then build a stronger cooker. I like the DATS modified with a so that it can focus all the way down to the early morning sun. You might also try the ASSC, the plans for which can be downloaded from All Season Solar Cooker for free. I have used both designs (DATS with rack modification and ASSC) for year round cooking at latitude 33.

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Other design for cooker made from printing platesby: Luther Krueger-Minneapolis